| Hi, My name is Ryan Romano, a.k.a. Black Beard. I was born in 1961 in the Bronx, New York. My father had a body shop, whom I would help since the age of six. My father felt that sweeping the floors, sanding the cars, washing the cars and other chores we tasks that a six year old should be doing. By the time I was about eight years old, he performed shows and would move onto race cars. He raced at the International speedway where he held a record for two years with a car named Uncle Sam. I was part of the pit crew. That was the beginning of what I do today. I was born and raised in the business of auto body repair. In 1971 our family moved to Orlando, Florida and my dad opened a shop on Highway 50 called Neighbors Paint and Body. I continued to learn! At the age of 17 I started to work for money. I worked for my dad from 1978 to 1985. Then my dad sold his shop. In 1986 I went to work for Scott Tomarazzo Auto Body. I am still there painting and doing restorations on Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Jaguar and other fine and exotic cars. One of the most fun restorations I performed was a 1916 Buick convertible for one of the local theme parks. Fun is saying a lot because most restorations are stripped down to the frame and worked piece by piece, which is what happened to the Buick. It was very labor intensive to say the least. Now, for the fun part! From the age of 14 (and owning a 125 Enduro) ‘til now, I have owned many bikes. I have painted every one of them and always enjoyed doing so. One of my favorites was a Kawasaki 900… (Before the 1000’s came out – I was cool!) I painted that thing at least five times. It was becoming a contest of “what color will it be next?” But then I sold it for a Trike, but that is whole other story… (And yes it was painted and customized too.) For a couple of years there I went dry and did not have a bike. Then the bug hit again. I bought a bike for myself and made the old lady get her own. Well of course they had to be painted and my passion was born again. So, the last couple of years I have been doing more custom work on the side and I love it, from flames and marbling to graphics. I greatly enjoy it. So that is a little about me. I hope I can help you. Besides, I need another bike to paint. The old lady loves the job on hers so much, she won’t let me repaint it! Safe riding, Ryan Romano P.S: Thanks Dad. |
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